The Pterodactyl | How To Create An Awesome Digital Drawing Project

Hello everyone. When I first started the current project, I didn't know what type of design would be created. Once I finished, I was surprised how the drawing resembled a prehistoric flying bird.

My first thought was of my kids when they were small playing with their various dinosaurs. I remember constantly stepping on the figures when not paying attention. They'd be strewn everywhere around the house, especially under their beds. I even discovered some in the fish bowl. Poor goldfish. So, it's with fondness that I remember these flying animals.

The Pterodactyl. A beautiful historic winged animal of the air. They are commonly called flying reptiles. These animals belong to the pterosaur family.¹. The feature that distinguishes them from other flying reptiles of that period is they have little to no tail. They lived at the age of the dinosaurs.

According to the scientific journal, Zitteliana, these flying reptiles appeared in the late Triassic Period and then became extinct during the end of the Cretaceous Period (228 to 66 million years ago)¹. They also went extinct at that same time. I liked their history and the design of their wings. They remind me of a giant bat, one thousands times the size.

I created this beautiful digital drawing of the Pterodactyl with two digital art programs:

Apophysis 2.09 Fractal Rendering Program

First, I wanted to design a fractal whose shape would resemble a bird or numerous lines extending in one or two directions. A fractal is an infinite mathematical shape that is represented by coordinates.

To complete my Fractal Rendering drawing, I utilized the program Apophysis 2.09. As I previously discussed, Apophysis 2.09 is a Windows application utilized for rendering fractal flames. This program can also design and edit the drawing before rendering.

I previously provided directions on how to create fractal drawings. To see complete instructions on maneuvering manipulating the triangles, see my how-to post here.

Below are the coordinates for the 3 Triangles I created to design the fractal.

Nvidia Gaugan AI Drawing Program

Next, I uploaded my Apophysis 2.09 Fractal Rendering drawing into my Nvidia Gaugan AI program. As you know, this program takes your basic brushstrokes you place on a blank canvas and interprets them into an image.

Before you begin, Click the box at the bottom right of your screen to signify you accept the terms and conditions of the program.

In the center box below the program (UPLOAD LANDSCAPE IMAGE). Then click "Upload".

Click the 👉 ARROW in the center of the program.

The brushstrokes proved correct. The interpretation looks like a prehistoric bird from the dinosaur age. I could see the fractal looked like some type of flying bird.

I love the resulting red, blue, and black colors interpreted from the fractal.